Project Presentation: Understanding Dolphin Vocalizations through Video Annotation

Greetings Dolphin Enthusiasts!

We welcome all citizen scientists eager to delve into dolphin communication with us. Our goal is to decode the complex world of dolphins by inviting volunteers to annotate video recordings that capture their vocalizations, social interactions, and behaviors. By carefully analyzing these moments, we hope to uncover patterns in how dolphins communicate and interact with one another.

We are particularly interested in dolphin acoustic communication, as breakthroughs in this area could significantly support conservation efforts by improving our understanding of their needs and social dynamics. Beyond conservation, studying dolphin communication may reveal intriguing parallels with other animal communication systems — and perhaps even with human language. These insights could bring us one step closer to understanding how language evolved in the natural world.

The Mission:
Our mission is to unravel the mysteries of dolphin communication and behavior by meticulously annotating video footage, which we will analyze together with audio data. Participants will identify whether dolphins are present in each clip, helping us understand the context of their vocalizations and social interactions. Your observations will contribute to our understanding of dolphin behaviour and communication.

How we will use these classification data :
Once the videos have been annotated, we will integrate them with our previous analysis of audio recordings, where we uncovered structured patterns in dolphin vocalizations using an AI-based approach. By adding information about the behaviors and social contexts in which these vocalizations occur, we will be able to better interpret the communicative functions of the acoustic structures we identified.

Where we collect our data:
Our video data have been collected in a bay of the Red Sea since 2022. The dolphins featured in the videos are not held in captivity, they live freely in the bay. Each video contains at most two dolphins, and they are always the same individuals. We have been studying this pod since 2019. We use both aerial and underwater footage of the dolphins, as each offers a different type of contextual information that can be valuable for understanding their behavior and communication.

Join Us:
Your participation is invaluable. By lending your time and expertise, you become an integral part of our endeavor to unravel the secrets of dolphin communication.
We extend our gratitude to all participants for their dedication.

Let the Adventure Begin:
Dive into the world of dolphins with us! Together, let's embark on a journey of discovery, one video clip at a time.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
The IBENS Dolphin Team @ Sumbre Lab